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WHO chief urges end to attacks on Sudan health care after 70 drone strike kills 70


Sudan's army soldiers celebrate the army's liberation of an oil refinery in North Bahri, Sudan, Jan. 25, 2025.
Sudan's army soldiers celebrate the army's liberation of an oil refinery in North Bahri, Sudan, Jan. 25, 2025.

The head of the World Health Organization called on Saturday for an end to attacks on health care workers and facilities in Sudan after a drone attack on a hospital in Sudan's North Darfur region killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens.

"As the only functional hospital in El Fasher, the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital provides services which include gyn-obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics, along with a nutrition stabilization center," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X after the Friday strike.

"We continue to call for a cessation of all attacks on health care in Sudan, and to allow full access for the swift restoration of the facilities that have been damaged," Tedros said.

The war between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces, which broke out in April 2023 due to disputes over the integration of the two forces, has killed tens of thousands, driven millions from their homes and plunged half of the population into hunger.

The conflict has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF, creating a humanitarian crisis.

Darfur Governor Mini Minnawi said on X that an RSF drone had struck the emergency department of the hospital in the capital of North Darfur, killing patients, including women and children.

Fierce clashes have erupted in El Fasher between the RSF and the Sudanese joint forces, including the army, armed resistance groups, police, and local defense units.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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